


I'll Call You

by tensofthousandsoftinyships (evilolive)



Category: The Fosters (TV 2013)
Genre: M/M, Not Happy, Sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-12
Updated: 2015-06-12
Packaged: 2018-04-04 01:41:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4121566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/evilolive/pseuds/tensofthousandsoftinyships
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jude always keeps his word.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'll Call You

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place during 3.01 "Wreckage". I wrote this because I needed to.

“Hey.” Jude voice on the end of the line was soft. Softer than it had been earlier, by the tree. Connor moved over to his bed. He lay down on his side, cradling his phone in both hands so that it was like he was cuddling it. It was the next best thing. 

“Hey.”

“Said I would call…”

“Yeah.” Connor sighed. “Thanks. It’s good to hear your voice.”

“Figured we needed to talk?” The words hung in the air. Connor felt a pricking behind his eyelids. He didn’t try and brush the tears away. He let them leak out and trickle away into his hair and down the back of his neck into his pillowcase. Jude finally breathed out. “I’m sorry about earlier.”

“No need to be sorry. The bell went. It’s not your fault.”

“Yeah, but…are you OK?” 

“Um. I’m freaking out a little bit, to be honest.”

“Me too. We should have talked about this earlier.” 

“I guess…” Connor had not brought it up because he had made an assumption. His assumption was that Jude would not want to be anybody’s secret. He’d thought that was where they were. Now, he did not have any idea where they were. 

“Summer school’s only for two weeks. And then it’s summer.”

“That’s true.” Connor did not know what difference that made. Telling people at school would be the same now or later. Scratch that. He wanted to tell people now. He wanted people’s reactions, even if they were bad. He could handle the bad. Some of them might be good and…he wanted that. It was different for Jude. Jude had a big family; a big, messy, open-hearted family who loved and accepted him for who he was. Connor felt that sometimes life was very unfair. Then he remembered Jude’s life before he had a family and knew that things were complicated. He sat up and brushed away the sticky tears with the back of his knuckles. He pushed his knuckle into his eye socket and felt the pain of the pressure on his eyeball. “You want to wait then? Not say anything?”

“Just for now. If it’s OK with you. Is it?”

“Not really, to be honest. But I won’t say anything. I promise.”

Jude started breathing in and out normally and immediately Connor felt a million times better. Jude said, “You know, we can keep talking about this. If you want to.”

“Thanks. Maybe not now.” He had a lot of homework. Falling behind was not something he had ever done before and it really fucking sucked. His dad would be home in an hour and would be full of questions about his classes. He would not ask about Jude. Connor really needed to make a start because his dad would not take his word for it. He would want to see progress. 

“Maybe at the party tomorrow? We can go somewhere quiet.”

“I’d like that.”

“Are you gonna be OK at the beach? With the crutches I mean.”

“I guess I’ll find out.” He really hated to say this. “Look, Jude…” 

He heard the catch in Jude’s voice. “You gotta go.”

“I don’t _want_ to.”

“I know. It’s OK. I’ll see you tomorrow.” 

“I’ll text you later.” Connor did not want to promise he would call back. It’s not that his dad banned him or anything. He just didn’t feel comfortable talking to his boyfriend when his dad was in the house. Even when his dad was downstairs, he heard him banging around and imagined his face like a thundercloud. It was like he was breathing down his neck all the way from the kitchen. 

Jude gave a quiet snigger on the other end of the phone. Connor knew what was coming and smiled in anticipation. “Not if I text you first.”

“Get off the line, dork.”

“Work hard and stay in school, boy.”

“Yeah. _Bye_.” 


End file.
